Chapters 1-2
Chapter 1 NOT finished Summary * The history of the Finch family, the town of Maycomb and the Radleys is described, and the main characters, Scout, Jem, Atticus and Calpurnia, are introduced. * Jem is almost ten and Scout nearly six when they meet Dill, who is nearly seven. Dill comes every summer from Mississippi to stay with Miss Rachel Haverford , his aunt and the Finches' neighbour. * Jem, Scout and Dill become fascinated with the Radleys , who are rarely seen. Boo Radley has not left his house in fifteen years, every since he got into trouble with other teenage boys and later supposedyy attacked his father with a pair of scissors. * The children are surprised when Calpurnia speaks badly of Mr Radley as she doesntt usually comment on white people's behaviour. * Dill dares Jem to knock on the Radleys' door. Nothing happens, but they think they see an inside shutter move. Key quotations and some analysis "The house was low,once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the colour of the slate-grey yard around it." Pg 14 pathetic phallacy of the house reflects Boo who is living inside. "once white" - it reflects the fact that Boo was once happy but when he was locked inside he lost his happiness and freedom(" but had long ago darkened"). "Long ago" also highlights he has been trapped in there for a long time. " Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom"pg 14 The connetations of the word "Phantom" are of a supernatural ghost. This is futherr backed up the past tense of the word "lived" , which is ironic because we are not sure if he is dead adding to the idea of a ghsost. Futhermore the past tense also implies that he is always inside and not living a full life. Boo is also presented to us as a Villian through the word "malevolent" , which means purposefully wishing bad on someone. So even in the first chapter the readers are fearing what is inside the house along with Scout. "tall pecans shook their fruit" pg 15 Personification of the trees implies that they purposefully wan't their fruit to kill the children and are determined too. "Shook" is a frantic verb implying that they do it often . "as we stared down the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move. Flick. A tiny, almost invisible movement, and the house was still." pg 21 This quotation personifies the house and we see the house as a metaphor for Boo. He is trying to reach out to the oustide world , but because Scout has out an image of a "phantom" in our minds we automatically think of this as a sinister movement when actually it is not. The onomatopeia of the word "flick" highlights how tiny the movement was and we hear it , which is significant because it is un-nerving because of the harsh sound. Context Racism/Legacy of slavery When we are told about Simon FInch a family ansestor :"bought three slaves" pg 10 This introduces us to the theme of racial predudice and the legacy of slavery and shows how deeply routed it is in the southern culture because it has been going on fot many years. Calpurnia's comment on Mr Radley: 'the meanest man ever God blew breath into' pg 18. The children are suprised at the comment because African- Americans were not as high up in society and so their opinions weren't valued, and when they commented on a white person it was very out of place and disrespectful. The role of women and Southern Values ''"''Ladies bathed before noon,after their three-o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum"pg 11 The women had a routine to follow , the simile objectifies them. "Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself"pg 11 Echoes Roosevelt's speech :" the only thing we have to fear is fear itself". It realtes to southern values because they are so imbedded that they potentially have the power to destroy the town, which is foreshadowing what happens later on in the novel. Chapter 2 Add analysis, key quotations and links to the context of the novel.